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AMERICAN 



NATIONAL LYRICS, 



SONNETS. 



By 0. PRESCOTT HILLER, 

author op 
'the pleasures of religion, and other poems.' 



BOSTON: 
OTIS CLAPP, 3, BEACON STREET. 

NEW YORK: 20, COOPER INSTITUTE. 
1860. 



y\i 













Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the Year 18G0, bt 

O. PRESCOTT HILLER, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



BELL AND BAIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW. 



TO 

MY BELOVED COUNTKY 

I VENTURE TO DEDICATE 

%htu f Brits. 



February, 1860. 



CONTENTS. 



NATIONAL LYRICS. 

PAGE 

ODE FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY, 1 

bunker's HILL, 3 

to the memory of washington, 8 

mount vernon, 11 

the washington monument, 13 

the martyrs of the revolution, 15 

britannia rules the waves no more, ..... 18 

kentucky the brave, 23 

buena vista, 26 

America's true glory, 31 

on the death of webster, 34 

my country, 36 



SONNETS. 

I. FRANKLIN, . . 41 

II. JAMES OTIS AND PATRICK HENRY, 42 

III. INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA, .... 43 



VI CONTENTS. 

TAGE 

IV. FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON, 44 

V. BOSTON COMMON, 45 

VI. BATTLE MONUMENT, BALTIMORE, 46 

VII. PLYMOUTH ROCK, 47 

VIII. THE DANISH TOWER AT NEWPORT, 48 

IX. LEDYARD, THE TRAVELER, 49 

X. ROBERT FULTON, 50 

XL WASHINGTON ALLSTON, 51 

XII. TO WASHINGTON IRVING, 52 

XIII. TO POWERS, THE SCULPTOR, 53 

XIV. LIEUTENANT LYNCH's EXPLORATION OF THE 

DEAD SEA, 54 

xv. dr. kane's discovery of the polar sea, . . 55 

XVI. THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH, 56 

XVII. THE FATHER OF WATERS, 57 

XVIII. THE BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL, 58 

XIX. HARVARD COLLEGE, 59 

XX. TO THE RIVER OHIO, 60 

NOTES, 63 



NATIONAL LYRICS. 



ODE FOE INDEPENDENCE DAY. 

Day of a nation's birth ! 
Let cannon roar, and shake the solid earth : 
Let trumpets blow, and to the world proclaim 
The high " United " name. 
And peal the clanging bells 
With music loud that tells 
A Princess born this glorious day, I ween, — 
Daughter of Truth the king, and Freedom queen. 

Amid the battle's storm 

Young America 11 ] was born, 

And nursed by warriors' hands : 

Her little feeble form 

Looked helpless and forlorn, 

Begirt by hostile bands. 
B 



ODE FOE, INDEPENDENCE DAY. 

But the mighty God above 
Spread wide his shield of love, 

And guarded her from harm ; 
And the tiny infant grew — 
As Time with swift wings flew — 

Supported by His arm. 

And now she stands in might, 
A giantess in height, 

Dauntless and strong ; 
And loudly doth proclaim 
Majestic Freedom's name, 
And all the nations wide the cry prolong. 

And louder shall it ring, 
Farther and farther sound, 
Till trembling tyrants hide beneath the ground. 

Then shall the nations sing, 

And grateful offerings bring 

To the high God, their King ; 
And all the world His holy name adore, 
And in His smile rejoice for evermore. 



BUNKER'S HILL. 

Mark ye yon glorious height ? 

List while I tell : 
'Twas there, in freedom's fight, 
Bold yeomen, for the right, 
Battled with Britain's might, 

And Warren fell. 



At earliest blush of morn, 
Their bands were spied, 
Toiling, and somewhat worn, 
(But not a look forlorn) 
With breastwork to adorn 
The hill's green side. 



BUNKERS HILL. 

At once the foemen showered 

Their angry shot : 
But not a yeoman cowered, 
And not a head was lowered, 
While Prescott {2) bravely towered, 

And heeded not. 



At length the ranks came on, 
The work to storm : 

Alas ! how many a one 

Looked last upon the sun, 

As to some silent gun 
He spread his form. 



Now " Fire !" the Colonel cried — 

" I see their eyes :" (3) 
And hundreds fell and died, 
As streamed that fire-sheet wide, 
And wounded wretches cried 

Up to the skies. 



BUNKER S HILL. 

Onward again they came — 

Again they fell 
Before that burst of flame : 
For deadly was the aim, 
Pointed in freedom's name, 

By freemen well. 



At last, superior force 

Slowly prevailed : 
But many a bleeding corse 
Told 'twas a sad resource, 
The victors had the worse,- 

Triumph bewailed. 



That battle, fought so well 

By freedom's band, 
Tolled the oppressors' knell, 
And spread a charmed spell, 
That made each bosom swell 

Throughout the land. 



BUNKER S HILL. 

Remembering the deeds 

Of that proud day, 
Our country in its needs, 
When wrapped in mourning weeds, 
Held fast the Hope that leads 

To victory. 



This monument (4) now rears 

Its lofty head : 
Delivered from our fears, 
We give our thanks and tears, 
While memory endears 

The glorious dead. 



And may the noble pile 

Forever stand, 
Rousing men's hearts the while, 
Throughout the world, to toil 
Till freed their native soil 

From tyrant's hand. 



BUNKER S HILL. 

Now praised be God, the Lord, 
Who saved our cause ; 

And may His mighty Word 

Spread truth and peace abroad, 

Till in all lands adored 
His name and laws. 



TO THE MEMOEY OF WASHINGTON. 

Thou great of soul, whose noble aim 
To serve thy country, and to bless 
With freedom, peace, and happiness, 
Is highest fame, — 
To thee we bow in gratitude 

And reverent love : 
May Heaven's most rich beatitude 
Bless thee above ! 

In days of darkness, when the foe 

Had swept the land, and all seemed lost, — 
When Freedom's barque, long tempest-tossed, 
Was sinking low, — 
Thy head was seen amid the gloom, 

Bared to the gale : 

Thy eye beheld the impending doom, 

But did not quail. 



TO THE MEMORY OF WASHINGTON. 

In the hour of triumph, when the war, 
Bravely maintained and carried through 
To victory, upon thee drew 
All eyes from far, — 
Then low in gratitude to Heaven 
Thy thanks were poured, 
And back with modesty was given 
Thy country's sword. 

Again, reluctant, called to power, 
The nation's good thy only end, 
From thy firm purpose nought could bend, 
In adverse hour : (5) 
Conscience thy guide, and God thy stay, 

What couldst thou fear 1 
Wisdom herself marked out thy way, 
And Peace stood near. 

Vulgar ambition, in thy breast 

No place retained : thy duty done, 
Thou soughtst but that life's setting sun 
Might sink to rest : 



10 TO THE MEMORY OF WASHINGTON. 

How glorious that setting ! calm 

As summer eve, 
When golden skies and airs of balm 

Sweet memories leave. 

Great Washington ! thy name shall stand 
Through time, — a model to the brave, 
The hope of every struggling slave 
In every land. 
Parents to youth thy course shall show, 

Example high : 
Millions from thee the way shall know 
To live, to die. 



11 



MOUNT YERNOK (6) 

[ere sleeps the hero ! Lightly, lightly tread ! 
he place is sacred. Here the noble dead 
deposes from his toils and triumphs now ! 
Incover, friends, and low with reverence bow. 

he tomb of Washington ! A lofty soul 
nspired that clay. But to a higher goal 
t winged its soaring night, and rests in peace 
before the throne of God, where troubles cease. 

ret in this tomb remains the mortal form, 

VTiich that high spirit wore : the battle's storm 

Ids frame hath stood : this hand hath grasped the sword, 

IVTieii o'er the field the tide of battle poured. 



12 MOUNT VERNON. 

The eye is here, though closed and sightless now, 
Which ne'er before proud England's host would bow 
From hosts angelic in the courts above, 
His looks now meet with answering looks of love. 

Hovers his spirit near ? and doth it keep 
Perpetual watch, in daylight and in sleep, 
Over the land that once it loved so well ? 
Angels of light, that see him — tell, O tell ! 

Majestically stand these trees around, 
And hymn the hero's dirge with solemn sound. 
Depart we, friends ; this lesson on our heart 
Deeply impressed, to go and do our part. 



13 



THE WASHINGTON MONUMENTS 

Ay, pile the marble : let the structure rise, 
Till it shall mingle with the blue, bright skies : 
That stone's not whiter than his spotless fame : 
Those skies not loftier than his deathless name. 

In other times, great Pyramids arose, 
Proud kings' momentoes, guarding their repose : 
The monuments still stand — but lo ! of whom ? 
Their dust and name together found a tomb. 

But when this obelisk, that now we raise, 
About to scatter far and wide its blaze, 
Shall fall, and crumble back again to dust — 
Shall change and pass away, as all things must, — 



14 THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 

Still his great name shall bright and brighter shine, 
As rolling ages weave time's lengthening line : 
This land shall ne'er forget its noblest son, 
The patriot pure, the peerless Washington. 

Or should Time's rushing tide sweep all away, 
And leave no vestige of this nation's day; — 
Should e'en the globe itself be crushed and riven, 
He still will live, — his name is found in heaven. 



15 



THE MARTYRS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

With bleeding feet the men tramp on, tramp on, 
Their red tracks leaving on the frozen snow : — 

" 0, is it thus that freedom's prize is won ?" 
Their feeling leader said, with heart of woe, 

I Cheer up, my men, cheer up ! march on, march on ! 

'Tis for your wives and little ones ye fight : 
Ere long a glorious victory will be won, 

And then bright days will follow this dark night." 

Their loved commander's stirring voice they heard, 
And quicker stepped along the frozen snow ; 

But sad and gloomily, without a word, 

They marched, with lips compressed and looks of woe. 



16 THE MARTYRS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Little the food they'd taken all the day; 

Thin were they clad against the wintry cold : 
And soon upon the road some sinking lay, 

Their sufferings ended in dark death's stern hold. 



Their leader saw : " O God of hosts/' he cried, 
" Whose arm in days of yore the faithful stayed, 

Forsake us not ! behold, our hearts are tried ! 
O, in this day of darkness lend thy aid !" 



The prayer was heard. The same Almighty Power, 
That rescued Israel from Egyptian bands, 

Sustained our fathers through that gloomy hour, 

Strengthened their sinking hearts, upheld their hands, 



But ere the end was reached, and freedom gained, 
How many a noble spirit lay full low ! 

We reap the blessings by their death attained, — 
Ours the good, but theirs the wounds and woe. 






THE MART YES OF THE REVOLUTION. 17 

O shall we not our grateful tributes bring ? 

Their names with reverence speak, their memory love ? 
Perchance our thankful hearts and songs will spring, 

And move their spirits in the courts above. 

Yet this the truest homage we can pay, — 
To prize the parting gifts they died to gain : 

This sacred freedom never to betray, 
This glorious Union ever to maintain. 



18 



BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES NO MORE. 

Britannia rules the waves no more : 

Her trident's snapped in twain : 

Over the tossing main 
She stalks not now as she was wont before. 

Who broke her towering pride ? 

The youthful Giant of the West : 

To do Heaven's high behest 
Was he raised up, and with a stride 
He struck the ocean-sceptre from her side. 

She had abused the power that God had given : 
Proud of her strength, she raged the wide sea o'er, 

And as the oak is riven 

By thunderbolt of heaven, 
So roared her cannon round each distant shore, 
Rending stout castle walls, and adding store to store. 



BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES NO MORE. 19 

Weak neutrals she distressed ; 

And with tyrannic force 
Seizing their ships and goods, — her proud behest 
She bade them do, or suffer. And, in course, 
She worried that young Giant of the West : 

His seamen she impressed ; 
And many hundred natives of his shore 
From home and friends with cruel hands she tore. (8) 

Up rose he to the fight : 
He knew his foeman's might, 
But knew he, also, God is with the right. 
He thought of former days, when, but a child, 
He had withstood the tyrant mother's rod ; 
And now again the oppressor should be foiled, 
Or he would lay his bones beneath the sod. 



'Twas on a summer's day. The Guerriere, 

A British frigate, with her sails all set, 
Was dashing on. At her mast-head she bare 



20 BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES NO MORE. 

A broom, (9) to sweep the seas of all slie met : — 
The boast was not tried yet. 

" Ho there ! a sail upon the weather-bow !" 

All hearts rejoice. " Ay ! helmsman, bear up now." 

" She conies, she comes : a frigate." — " Ha ! that's well ! 

What is her nation 1 French or Yankee 1 tell ! 

O, 'tis American — the stripes and stars ! 

Hurrah for England ! By the glorious Mars 

A noble prize she'll make for our fine tars." 

" She nears, she nears. Give her a broadside now : — 
The shot told well : now watch her smoke there, men. 

"What 1 no return ? they are asleep there ! — How ? 
No firing yet ? Give her another, then : 
Another — and another — and again. 

O shame ! for shame ! to strike without a blow !" — 
O never fear : she'll wake up by and by : 

She's taking her position : soon she'll show. 
Look there ! her flag is flying free and high : 
There's no strike there : it says, "to do or die.'' 



BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES NO MORE. 21 

'There gleam the flashes, sure enough, at last." 
Ln pours the shot — and thick, and hot, and fast — 

Faster and faster, and on every side 

Showers the iron tempest wide : 

I From stem to stern — above — below — 
Through ports, through bulwarks, crashing go 
Round shot, chain shot, bar shot, all 
The iron monsters that the soul appal, 
flows the blood : down go the wounded men : 
Up rise the shrieks and groans : — again — again : — 

There is no ceasing, no suspense 
Of crashings dire — no hiding, no defence • 
On every hand the dreadful splinters fly — 

Extinguished 's many a flashing eye : 
Arms, legs, and backs are broken by the shot — 
The iron storm pours on and heeds them not. 
The decks are slippery : — bodies lie about 

From which the living soul 's gone out : 
The decks are slippery, slippery with gore : — 
horrors ! this is war — this, this is war ! 
There goes the mizen-mast o'er the vessel's side 
Into the smoking tide : 



22 BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES NO MORE. 

The foremast totters, too, — and now the main : — 
Down, down they go — they're broken full in twain. 
" Strike, strike the flag," the captain loudly cries : 
" Tis hard, but there's do help : — a log she lies." 

Sudden the thunders cease : the crashing tempests lull. 
She nears. " What ship is that ?"— " The Constitution,— 

Hull." 
" Well, there's my sword," said Dacres : " hard for me ; 
But here I lie : I've done my best, you see." 

" Fortune of war, sir," Hull politely said. 

" Now, Mr. Morris,* overboard the dead — 

Up with their wounded — pass the prisoners here : 

She's cut to pieces — quite beyond repair : 

Must blow her up : they took her from the French, 

And we from them : now give her a sea trench." 

So the first conflict ends ; and Britain's might 

Of name and fame is bowed. (10) God save the right ! 

* The late Commodore Morris, then first lieutenant of the Constitution. 



23 



KENTUCKY THE BRA YE. 

(A Western Wood-Song.) 

" Kentucky the Brave " 's my song, 
ki Kentucky the Brave " prolong : 
She stands on her feet, 
And there's none can beat 
Kentucky. 

In the olden time, the bear 
Roamed through the forest here ; 
And he climbed the honey tree, 
And robbed the hope of the bee. 
But sudden the hunter came, 
And his rifle's crack and flame 
Through the forest rang and flashed, 
And luckless Bruin dashed 

To the ground 

With a wound. 



24: KENTUCKY THE BRAVE. 

Chorus. — Hurrah ! " Kentuck" 's my song, 
" Kentucky the Brave," prolong : 
She stands on her feet, 
And there's none can beat 
Kentucky. 

At length the country's call 
Was heard,—" To the Southern wall !" 
For the British foe had come 
From their distant island home, 
To take our noble city, 
Its "beauty" and its "booty." 
From France and Spain they'd come, 
These men of fife and drum, 
For Bonaparte they'd beat, 
And forced him to retreat. 
Chorus. — Hurrah ! " Kentuck " 's my song, &c. 

And shall these fellows tear 

Our lovely maidens' hair ? 

Shall they burn New Orleans down, 

As they did fair Washington ? . 



KENTUCKY THE BRAVE. 25 

Kentucky answered " No /" 
And aimed her rifles low 
At the breasts of the coming foe. 
And down — and down — they fell 
In heaps, in their ranks, pell-mell ; 
And away the living run, 
And the battle's fought and won. (11) 
Chorus. — Hurrah ! " Kentuck " 's my song, (fee. 



26 



BUENA VISTA. 

Buena Vista sleeps : 
Along its moonlit steeps 

The midnight breezes blow : 
While o'er the lighted plain 
The ghosts of warrior men 

Are gliding to and fro. 

And when the morning breaks, 
Still silent Nature wakes 

O'er the deserted ground : 
The eagle screams above, 
While greedy vultures move, 

Heavy, from mound to mound. 



BUENA VISTA. 

Not always, o'er yon hill, 
The sun rose clear and still, 

As we behold to-day; 
But clanging trumpets woke 
Armies to battle's shock, 

And smoke obscured the sky. 



Proud Santa Anna came, 
With twice ten thousand men, 

To take brave Taylor's band : 
" Yield you," he fiercely said, 
" Or soon, among the dead, 

Your troops shall strew the land." 



Calmly the hero stood, 

And viewed the approaching flood : 

" I cannot yield, you see, 
For here I'm placed to fight : 
We'll make (if you've the might) 

A new Thermopylae. " (12) 



28 BUENA VISTA. 

Bold Illinois was there, 
And Indiana's share, 

And Mississippi, three : 
And Arkansaw's array, 
And, led by valiant Clay, 

Kentucky's chivalry. 



No hireling bands were these, 
Wherewith proud despots tease 

Alike their friends and foes ; 
But daring volunteers, 
America's brave peers — 

No other peers she knows. 



'Twas Washington's birth-day : 
And should we feel dismay 

At yon advancing host 1 
" No ! no ! the Hero's eye 
Beams on us from the sky — 

The battle can't be lost." 



BUENA VISTA. 29 

From morn till evening hour, 
The battle raged with power 

O'er hill and dale and plain : 
Ah ! many a spirit bold 
His last camp-tale has told, 

Now pale among the slain. 

Brave Clay is gone — and Yell, 
Hardin, M'Kee just fell :— 

On, still, their masses pour : 
Backward they're driven there, 
But crowds are coming here : — 

Stand firm, or all is o'er. 

" Bring up your batteries," 
Old Rough-and-Ready* cries, — 

" Your grape, Bragg, t — quick — more grape !" 
The faltering column breaks, 
Then soon to flight betakes : 

We breathe — a near escape. 

* A soubriquet of Gen. Taylor's. f Capt. Bragg, of the Artillery. 



30 BUENA VISTA. 

We bivouacked on the field, 
Expecting day would yield 

New conflicts with their powers : 
We woke — the foe had fled, 
-Leaving his heaps of dead : — 

Buena Vista's ours. (13) 



31 



AMERICA'S TBUE GLORY. 

Seek not, my Country, that ignoble fame, 

Which springs from conquest of a brother's soil : 

Do fraud and violence yield a lofty name % 
Is't Great to snatch the fruits of others' toil ? 

Away ! away ! speak not of " Destiny :" (14) 
There is no destiny nor fate but God : 

His law is justice, his rule liberty, 

His plan — to all the largest, highest good. 

Be sure He will the humblest right defend, 
And cast the base oppressor headlong down : 

Wrong triumphs for a time, — but, in the end, 
Pain follows sin, as sure as night the sun. (15) 



32 America's true glory. 

Has Providence not given a noble land, 

Spreading from sea to sea ? what need we more ? 

And shall we now provoke His mighty hand, 
By robbing others of their little store ? 



O no ! but be it ours to show the world 
The high example of a nation's truth : 

Upon our Country's flag, where'er unfurled, 

This motto write, held from our Country's youth : 



" No WRONG TO SUFFER, AND NO WRONG TO DO !" 

Reading these words, the strong shall stand in awe, 
And weaker nations may their course pursue, 
Fearing no harm, while keeping right and law. 



The glory of America shall be, 

To see her people happy, wise, and true : 
All avenues to good thrown open free, 

All rights supported, to each man his due ; 



America's true glory. 33 

For all, fair Learning's table amply spread, — 
The noblest feast, the banquet of the mind : 

Freedom secured, for which our fathers bled ; 
Religion's blessings to no sect confined. 






Thus shall our Country prove a glorious land, 
To all the world a shining light afar : 

The Lord will grant us His protecting hand, 
And all shall hail the beaming Western Star. 






34 



ON THE DEATH OF WEBSTER (16) 

The statesman has gone to his last, long home, 

Bewailed by a nation's tears : 
His cold form has now passed to the silent tomb, 

His spirit to other spheres. 

America's hope and pride is low : 

She mourns for her patriot son. 
No sectional feeling or thought did he know, 

His country to him was one. (17) 

The East and the West, the North and the South, 
Were but parts of one glorious land : 

He pleaded for all with eloquent mouth, 
And laboured with earnest hand. 



ON THE DEATH OF WEBSTER. 35 

The Union was ever his foremost aim • 

For that he would live or die : 
He has gone : — may his country's " United " name 

Endure, as he hoped, for aye ! 

" I live," were his dying words, " I still live :" 

'Tis true, illustrious one ! 
Thou liv'st in the fame that a world can give, 

Thou liv'st in thy duty done ; 

Thou liv'st in thy country's love and pride, 

In memory's tributes given : 
Thou liv'st in a better land beside, 

Thou livest, we trust, in heaven. 

November, 1852. 



36 



MY COUNTRY. 

America, my country, far away 

I sojourn here upon a foreign shore ; 
Yet oft to thee I turn, by night, by day, 

And long to look upon thy face once more. 

When low the sun is sinking in the West, 
I stand and gaze upon his going down, 

And wish that I, like him, might sink to rest 
Near that dear distant land I call my own. 

When ' twilight lingers ' in the evening sky, 

And through its veil looks forth the Western Star, 

O then I fancy 'tis the spirit-eye 
Of my own Home, thus beaming from afar. 



MY COUNTRY. • 

Wlien Night hath kindled up her stellar fires, 

And silence wide broods o'er the sleeping earth, — 

Then oft, in dreams, the soul (which never tires) 
Sweetly presents the country of my birth. 

Dear native land ! by absence made more dear, 
Nor always from thee shall I distant stray : 

My duty done, how will I hasten near, 
Upon thy lap my weary head to lay ! 

Scotland, 1852. 



< 






SONNETS. 



(1) 



41 



I. 



FRANKLIK 

Sage of America ! thy country's pride ! 
In early days, ere yet our youthful land 
Had won a nation's name, thy daring hand 

Mastered the lightning — drew it to thy side. 

Soon did the wondrous news spread far and wide ; 
And Europe's lofty, scientific band 
Paid homage to the man, whose magic wand 

Could rule the elements, and stay their tide. 

Nor Science, only, thine, but wisdom too ; 
Wisdom in senates and in courts, that knew 
Man's heart, as well as Nature's, — could control 
With simple words the lightning flash of thought ; 
And, more than all, the wisdom pure that taught 
To curb the fiery passions of the soul. 



42 



IT. 



JAMES OTIS AND PATRICK HENRY. 

Twin patriot orators ! Your tongues of fire 
First roused our people to resistance stern 
'Gainst British tyranny; and hearts did burn, 

At your appeal, with freemen's noble ire. 

As, in the olden time, the stirring lyre 

And Demosthenic voice the Greeks did turn 

Against proud Philip, — so did ye inspire 

Your country's heart king George's yoke to spurn. 

Virginia's fire and Massachusett's truth 

Went hand in hand, — stern North and glowing South 

What could withstand their brave, united might ? 
So, ever, side by side, in danger's hour, 
In council or the field, their mingled power 

Shall raise our land to glory's loftiest height. 



43 



III. 
INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA. 

Around — the great departed seem to stand, 
As in the days of yore, with solemn mien ; 
And, stepping forward, on the table lean, 

And calmly, one by one, affix their hand 

To the great document that freed our land : 
Methinks I now behold the lofty scene, 
And hear the moving pen, in the serene 

Yet earnest stillness of that patriot band. 






Bold Jefferson is there, and Adams, too, 
Franklin the wise, and Hancock brave and true : 

A nobler council never met in hall. 
Methinks their spirits hover round us still, 
And bid us their high purposes fulfil, 

Nor ever let this glorious Union fall. 



44 



IV. 



FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON. 

Old Faneuil ! Oft, how oft these walls have rung 
With freemen's voices ! In Colonial days, 
The orator here kindled freedom's blaze 

With magic words, as if a syren sung. 

Here Otis flamed; here Quincy bravely flung 

His wise words forth, men's hearts and hopes to raise : 
Here Adams stood before his country's gaze : 

On Webster's accents, here, what crowds have hung ! 

Cradle of freedom ! on these walls I read 

The scroll of patriot names that ne'er shall die : 
America's Walhalla ! (2) here the seed 

Of lofty thoughts is sown, and virtues high ; 
And oft the tears of memory here shall fall, 
As future freemen tread this sacred hall. 



45 



BOSTON COMMON. 

• 
ause here and look around. This ancient tree, (3) 

'Neath which we stand, strange sights of yore hath seen. 

List to its whispering boughs — which still are green — 
Vhat chronicles it tells to thee and me : 

In my young days, here roamed the savage free, 
i And drank of yonder crescent pond, I ween; 

But strangers stood where natives once had been, — 
phe white man's face these ancient woods did see. 

I At length the red-coats came. Along the plain 
Their burnished muskets glittered in the sun, 
And white tents gleamed. But soon their day was done, 

A.nd never here their feet shall tread again." 
Well done, my stout old elm ! and thou shalt stand, 
To grace, for many a year, this beauteous land. 



46 



VI. 



BATTLE MONUMENT, BALTIMORE. 

Glory to those who bravely fought and fell 

In Baltimore's defence ! their names read here. 

Let fathers, as they pass, their children tell 
Ever to hold the martyrs' memory dear : 

And, as they listen, their young breasts shall swell 
With patriotic fire ; and, spurning fear, 

They will resolve — should ever foes come near — 
To die, if need be, for their country's weal. 

Hither came valiant Boss, but ne'er returned : — 
He, who our stately Capitol had burned 

With Yandal hand; but here his fate he met. 
May all invaders of this nation's soil 
A like fate find, and rue their hopeless toil ! 

" God and our country !" be our motto yet ! 



47 



VII. 

PLYMOUTH ROCK. 

The Rock of Plymouth — freedom's far-famed stone ! 
O long this rock had waited for its day, 
While slow the rolling ages passed away. 

At length a sail appeared, far off and lone, 

Feeling its way across the shoals unknown. 
Nearer it came, and now the Mayflower lay, 
Anchored secure within the sheltering bay ; 

And Pilgrims' careworn faces hopeful shone. 

They landed here, beneath the lofty sky, 

Upon this stepping-stone which God had laid, 
And soon began a structure broad and high, 
At once for Freedom and Religion made. 

By these two powers upheld, our State shall stand 
Through circling years, a good and glorious land. 



48 



VIII. 

THE DANISH TOWEK AT NEWPOKT. (4 > 

Canst thou not speak, and tell what thou hast seen? 
Wilt thou in solemn silence ever stand, 
And gloom abroad upon this wondering land, 

Spreading mysterious awe 1 What hast thou been? 

Who set thee here 'I what do these columns mean ? 
Art thou the work of that brave Northman band, 
Who crossed the wave, and stood upon this strand, 

Ages before Columbus' bold marine ? 

Yes ! they would mark the exploit they achieved, 

And raised this monument to tell the tale : 
New sounds the forest solitudes perceived, 
The clink of chisel, and the clank of mail. 
But soon the strangers perished in the wood, 
Or else, returning, sank beneath the flood. 



49 






IX. 



LEDYARD, THE TRAVELER.^ 

One of our early heroes ! born to roam, 
The trackless wilds of nature to explore : 
Roving o'er sea and land, from shore to shore, 

In the wide world he found his best-loved home. 

Forsaking college halls and learned tome, 

He launches forth with rough-hewn boat and oar : 

Down the Connecticut behold him come, 
Heedless of perilous falls or rapids' roar. 

A sailor's life and then a soldier's tries. 

With the bold Cook he sails the world around : 
Through Lapland's snows, 'neath bleak Siberia's skies, 

He seeks, a-foot, to reach Earth's farthest bound : 

Then turns the secret of the Nile to find, — 

But Death to grander secrets called his mind. 
E 



50 



X. 



ROBERT FULTON. 

Our noble Fulton ! lofty honors pay 

To him who bravely labors for his kind, 
Whose conquests are the triumphs of the mind, 

Who opens to the world a brighter day. 

Fast by swift Hudson's bank a vessel lay : 
No sail has she to woo the fickle wind ; 
Yet see ! she moves : — sure, Genii push behind, 

So bravely up the stream she makes her way. 

Yes ! 'tis bold Fulton's genius urging there, 

And Fire and Water work at his command : 
Stronger are these than e'en the Powers of air, 
To waft the stately ship from land to land. 
And now the world reaps freely of his toil : 
Honor to Fulton and his native soil ! (C) 



51 









XL 



WASHINGTON ALLSTON. 

Upon our walls, thy genius, Allston, beams 
From charming landscape and historic scene : 
Italia's bowers, and plains, and skies serene, 

Here glow in beauty, like a land of dreams. 

Thy pencil, too, hath traced still loftier themes : 
The dead reviving at a touch, is 'seen: (7) 
And mark profane Belshazzar's frighted mien 7 

As on the wall mysterious writing gleams. 

But, Allston, thou to higher worlds hast soared : 

More beauteous landscapes shine before thy view, 
Sublimer scenes are all around thee poured, 
Than e'er on earth thine eye or fancy knew. 
He who, in love, thy lofty powers hath given, 
Now bids thee paint the scenery of heaven. 



52 



XII. 



TO WASHINGTON IKVING. 

The father of our literature ! to thee 

Our Country owes its place in glory's line : 
The glory, not of arms — more pure and fine, 

The fame of genius, letters, poesy. 

How oft, in youth, thy book upon my knee, 

I've sat and dreamed, and wished the power were mine, 

To clothe in words of rhythmic melody 

Delightful thoughts, sweet fancies, such as thine. 

I thank thee, Irving, for those pleasant hours : 

And if, in riper years, my task has been 
To write on graver themes, perchance some flowers 
Culled from thy stem may here and there be seen. 
Yet seek I not to rival thee, but own 
That in thy charming sphere thou reign' st alone. 



53 



XIII 

TO POWERS, THE SCULPTOR. 

Bright forms in thy fine fancy, Powers, arise, 
And soon in clay they stand exposed to view : 
At length they shine in marble's brilliant hue, 

And beam all living to our wondering eyes : — 

The " Greek Slave," shown in nature's bashful guise ; 

Fair " Eve," about to taste, but soon to rue ; 

Lofty "America," with freedom true, 
Though trampling crowns, still pointing to the skies. 

Toil on, great sculptor ! still bring forth to light 
New shapes that gleam before thy mental sight, 

And fix them in the firm, enduring stone. 
So shall thy country in her son delight ; 

So shall thy works to future times be known, 
And charm the world when upward thou art gone. 



54 



XIV. 

LIEUT. LYNCH'S EXPLOEATION OF 
THE DEAD SEA. 

Here lie the buried cities of the plain. 
The heavy waters sleep in death's repose : 
No living thing this desolation knows : 

An awful silence round the shores doth reign. 

Three thousand years these waters thus have lain, — 
When lo ! a stranger comes ! where Jordan flows, 
His rushing billows issuing amain, — 

Comes the bold man : an iron boat he rows. 

And now he wakes these waters with the oar — 
A touch and splash they ne'er have felt before — 

And wends his way across the sluggish deep. 
Into its silent depths he drops his lead, 
Explores their oozy, chrystal-covered bed, 

And leaves his Country's flag to fan their sleep. (8) 



55 



XY. 
DR. KANE'S DISCOYERY OF THE POLAR SEA. 

Laurels for thee and for thy Country, Kane ! 
Through icy barriers thou hadst made thy way, 
In search of England's lost ones ; (9) day by day, 

Scanning the frozen wilderness in vain. 

But lo ! where cold Charles drives his starry wain 
Forever round the pole, — where not a ray 
Of Sol's all cheering light for months doth play, 

But Winter spreads around his drear domain, — 

Behold an open sea ! How sweet to view 

The free waves dancing in the polar wind, 
Their icy fetters gone ! Now launch anew 

Thy bold bark, Kane, and the deep secret find. 
Ah no ! exhausted nature calls thee home, 
No more, no more, those northern wilds to roam. (10) 



56 



XVI. 
THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. 

Wonder of wonders ! see! an ocean chain 

Binding the distant nations into one ! 
The boast of Xerxes now no more is vain : 

The task of fettering the sea is done. 

The spirit- world draws nearer. As the Sun 
Of Righteousness disperses sin and pain, — 
As faith and love are joined and no more twain, — 

So triumphs over space and time are won. 

A Franklin drew the lightning from the skies, — 

A Morse had harnessed it to learning's car. 
Across the continents he drove his prize, 
Conveying messages of peace and war ; 

And now, like Xeptune, gallops through the seas, 
Outstripping far the steamship and the breeze. 



01 



XVII. 
THE FATHER OF WATERS. (11) 

In by-gone times, great River, thon didst pour 
Thy swelling flood through solitudes profound, 
When from thy silent bosom came no sound 

Of Indian paddle or of white man's oar. 

Perchance, long ages ere on Egypt's shore 
The slave-built pyramids a place had found, 
Here, on thy borders, stood the grass-grown mound, 

Raised by a race unknown, long since no more. 

At length the wandering red man found his way 

To these green banks, and chose them for his home, 
And war-whoops woke the echoes. But the day 
Of white men's power arrived ; and now the foam 
Of thousand rushing steamers whites thy wave, 
And cities rise above the red man's grave. 



58 



XVIII. 



THE BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL. 

Schola Latina, to my memory dear, 
Methinks I hear again thy matin bell 
(The sound that every laggard knew full well) 

Toll o'er the waters to my listening ear. 

Methinks those school-day scenes once more appear : 

I hear the anxious youths reciting tell 

How proud Rome triumphed, and how Carthage fell 
JEneas' exploits, and poor Dido's tear. 

Boston's chief glory, education meet 

For all her children, howe'er poor or low, 
Hath this its crown, that who with ready feet 
Would mount the steeps of science, or would go 
Along the silver streams of classic lore, 
May find a way prepared, an open door. 
Scotland, 1852. 



.59 

XIX. 
HARVARD COLLEGE. 

Harvard, thy classic walls before my view 
In memory rise. Teacher of ancient lore, 
Nurse of our fathers' minds in days of yore, 

America's first Alma Mater true. 

In Massachusetts'* walls, — when soft the dew 
On moonlit groves (12) was falling, off I tore 
My eyes from classic page away, to pore 

Over the sweet still lines the moonbeams drew. 

The air seemed haunted : stately forms of Rome, 

With lofty Grecian sages, glided by ; 
And, in the midst, bright Shakspeare's face would come, 
And sightless Milton, in his majesty: 

While, from the throng, tall laureled Fame would w ave, 
And bid me join that band beyond the grave. 
* The name of one of the College halls. 



60 



XX. 



TO THE RIVER OHIO. 



My beautiful Ohio ! how I love 

Thy winding stream ! thy pretty wooded isles, 
Thy verdant banks, whereon the blue sky smiles, 

And ever beams the golden sun above. 

How oft, at evening, do I silent rove 

By thy sweet side, — as meditation whiles 
Away the pensive hours, when all the toils 

Of garish day are o'er, and feelings move. 

On the opposing shore, gleam one by one 

The evening lamps of many peaceful homes : 
In the dusk graveyard there, life's task now done, 
Many repose beneath the dewy tombs, — 

Their souls, I trust, in heaven. When comes my hour, 
Thither draw me, too, Saviour, by thy power. 



NOTES. 



NOTES TO THE NATIONAL LYRICS. 



1 Page 1. Young America. 
The name " America," — though, geographically, it signifies 
whole continent, — yet, politically, is often applied to the 
Jnited States. 

2 Page 4. While Prescott bravely towered. 
The commander at the redoubt was Colonel William Prescott 
(General Warren had not yet taken a command, and was only 
a volunteer). Col. Prescott had already seen service in the 
"old French war." His figure was tall and commanding, and, 
as he walked back and forth on the redoubt, cheering his men 
at their work, and setting them an example of fearlessness, he 
presented a striking object. Gen. Gage, who was reconnoiter- 
ing with his glass from Copp's Hill, inquired of Counselor 
Willard by his side, u Who is that officer commanding?" 
Willard recognized Colonel Prescott (who was his brother- 
in-law). "Will he fight?" asked Gage. "Yes, sir, depend 
upon it," was the reply, "to the last drop of his blood ; but I 
cannot answer for his men." 



64 NOTES. 

3 Page 4. I see their eyes. 
The men had been commanded not to fire till the enemy 
came so near that they " could see the whites of their eyes." 
u When the space," says an account, u between the assailants 
and the redoubt was narrowed to the appointed span, the word 
was spoken, and the deadly flashes burst forth. The slaughter 
was awful : out of an attacking force of 4000, the killed and 
wounded numbered 1054. Among these, the officers were 
particularly numerous, as the marksmen had orders fc to aim at 
the handsome coats.' The green grass was crimsoned with the 
life blood of hundreds. The front rank of the British was 
nearly obliterated. As the wind rolled away the smoke, some 
of the wounded were seen crawling with the last energies of life 
from the gory heaps of the dying and the dead. The cries of 
the sufferers, groans and prayers, impious oaths, and fond invo- 
cations of absent loved ones, were all strangely mingled with 
the shouts of victory that rang from the redoubt. Twice were 
the British fairly and completely driven from the hill." 

4 Page 6. TJiis monument now rears 
Its lofty head. 
The monument is a granite obelisk, 220 feet in height, and is 
probably the finest structure of the kind in the world. The 
corner-stone was laid on the 17th of June, 1825, the fiftieth 
anniversary of the battle, and the cap-stone was placed, July 
23, 1842, — the erection having occupied, with intervals, a period 
of seventeen years. 






NOTES. 65 

4 Page 9. In adverse hour. 
The course of Washington, while President, in firmly with- 
standing the tide of popular feeling, while doing what . he 
believed to be his duty and for the best good of the country, 
in the matter of the " British Treaty," in 1794, — displayed true 
greatness, and afforded one more proof of his utter superiority 
to any thought of self. He thereby showed, that as popular 
i favor and admiration, in former times, could not entice him from 
the path of duty, so neither, now, could popular opposition and 
violence drive him from it : neither sun nor storm could move him. 
j 

6 Page 11. Mount Vernon. 

The effort now making by the u Ladies' Mount Vernon 

Association " to secure this sacred spot to the country, is worthy 

. of all praise and of hearty cooperation. Let it be preserved as 

the nation's shrine, — the Mecca, whither every young American 

shall feel it a duty, once in his life, to make a pilgrimage. 

7 Page 13. The Washington Monument. 

The monument, now in process of erection at the National 
Capital, is to be a grand obelisk, 500 feet in height, — 
of white marble. In one respect, it will be a great curio- 
sity : the interior will be incrusted with ornamental stones, 
bearing devices and inscriptions in honor of Washington : 
these stones have been sent from all parts of the world, — 
Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, and even from Asia and 



66 NOTES. 

Africa, — testifying, in a most remarkable manner, to the 
world-wide admiration and reverence felt for our great 
countryman. 

8 Page 19. And many hundred natives of his shore, 

From home and friends with cruel hands she tore. 

44 It has been satisfactorily ascertained," says Cooper, u that 
the number of impressed Americans on board British ships of 
war, between the years 1802 and 1812, was seldom less than 
the entire number of seamen in the American Navy. At the 
declaration of war, in 1812, the number turned over to the 
prison-ships for refusing to fight against their country, is said to 
have exceeded 2000. " — History of the United States' Navy, 
vol. ii., chap. 8. 

9 Page 20. At her mast-head she hare 

A broom, to sweep the seas of all she met. 

It is said that some of the British commanders, in their 
arrogance, — like the Dutch admirals of former days, — carried 
a broom at the mast-head, to signify their ability and intention 
to sweep all enemies from the seas. 

10 Page 22. And Britain's might 

Of name and fame is bowed. 

When, in 1812, the United States declared war against 
Great Britain, they had but the commencement of a navy : they 



NOTES. 67 

did not yet possess a single ship of the line, and had but seven 
frigates and a few smaller vessels. Yet with this little force they 
launched boldly forth on the ocean, to meet the greatest of 
naval Powers, possessing at that time upwards of 600 vessels of 
war. The result is known to the world : the fame of British 
naval invincibility was destroyed forever. 

Still, however, we occasionally hear British writers, though 
in a greatly subdued tone, speak of England as " mistress of the 
seas," But in what, let it be asked, does the dominion of the 
seas consist ? Does it consist merely in the possession of a great 
number of ships of war ? That is a matter merely of choice : 
any nation that possesses means and constructive skill can 
build ships to an indefinite extent. At this moment it is 
estimated that France has more ships of war than England ;* 
but does any one suppose that France is mistress of the seas ? 
The question is, are there seamen to man and fight the ships 
after they are built ? That is the true question. And that will 
depend on two things — first, the extent of the mercantile 
marine, and secondly, on the aptness of a people for the sea ; — 
in a word, whether they are what is called a maritime nation. 
Now, the fact is, that, at the present moment, the maritime 
resources of the United States are as great and even greater 
than those of Great Britain, and every year is increasing the 
difference. In 1855 (we have no later statistics at hand), the 
mercantile tonnage of the United States was 5,661,416, in 
40,500 vessels, while that of Great Britain was but 5,043,270, 
* In 1856, France had 547 ships to England's 537. 



68 NOTES. 

in 35,960 vessels ; and the tonnage of France was only 716,130. 
Thus it will be seen that the United States now stands first in 
point of ability to man a navy. 

As to the number of ships, has not the United States 
abundant means in her treasury for building ships of war ? has 
she not the skill to construct them? and she has proved her 
ability to fight them. If, then, she does not keep afloat an 
immense navy, it is simply because she does not choose to do 
so : it is not her policy to build vast numbers of ships to rot. 
Conscious of her own strength and resources, she prefers to 
maintain only the nucleus of a navy, trusting to her own ener- 
gies for its quick expansion when an emergency shall call for it. 

No ! the day of England's dominion of the sea is over. Nor 
is it to be desired that either the United States or any other 
nation should usurp it in her place : it is better, both for them- 
selves and for the peace of the world, that there should be two 
or more great Powers nearly on a par in this respect. And j 
furthermore, it is to be hoped that the period of naval wars 
is at an end; and that the peaceful ocean, intended by the 
Creator to be the great highway of nations, over which may be 
exchanged in security the necessaries and comforts of life, will 
be no more disturbed by warring navies. 

11 Page 25. And the battle } s fought and won. 

The battle of New Orleans was one of the most disastrous to 
the British in which they were ever engaged. It was " Bunker's 



NOTES. 69 

Hill" repeated, under still more distressing circumstances : they 
lost officers, men, fame, everything, without gathering, as at 
Bunker's Hill, the barren laurel of even a nominal victory. And 
justly was it so disastrous, for they were now invading a country 
which they had already injured by years of wrong. Sir Ed- 
ward Packenham, the commander-in-chief, brother-in-law to the 
Duke of Wellington, — together with Generals Gibbs and Keane, 
and 2100 men, were left killed or wounded on the field of 
battle, and 500 were taken prisoners ; while the Americans, 
shielded by their breastwork of cotton bags, lost but 13 killed 
and 39 wounded. The battle was fought on the 8th January, 
1815, and concluded the war ; and it is to be hoped that it will 
be the last battle ever fought between the kindred nations of 
England and America. 

12 Page 27. TJiermopylce. 

The famed pass where Leonidas and his three hundred 
Spartans kept at bay the whole force of the Persian army, till 
they were cut to pieces. 

13 Page 30. Buena Vista's ours. 

The battle of Buena Vista was fought on the 22d and 23d 
February, 1847. The Mexican army came in sight on the 
morning of the 22d (Washington's birth-day), and at 11 o'clock 
on that day sent a summons to General Taylor to surrender his 
small force ; — which was answered by Taylor in the spirit and 



70 NOTES. 

almost in the words of the Spartan commander, M Come and 
take them." There was some skirmishing in the latter part of 
that day, but the main battle was fought on the 23d. The 
peculiarities of this combat, and the glory of the victory, arose 
chiefly from the circumstance of the immense disparity between 
the numbers of the opposing armies, — General Taylor's force 
consisting of but 5000 men, all volunteers (with the exception 
of 450 regulars), while Santa Anna had with him 20,000 men, 
the flower of the Mexican army. The struggle against such 
odds was necessarily long, obstinate, and bloody ; but, at last, 
American skill and bravery triumphed. 

14 Page 31. Away ! aivay ! speak riot of " Destiny." 

u We must grow," says the New York Herald, " and the 
Union must extend. We shall, in due process of time, absorb 
all of Mexico, Central America, Cuba, St. Domingo, Porto 
Rico, and all the other islands of the Caribbean Sea. European 
resistance to this manifest destiny is continually decreasing." Such 
is the language of the New York Herald of October 13, 1858. 
We have reason to be thankful that the editor of that reck- 
less journal is not an American, but a foreigner — I am sorry to 
say, a Scotchman. However long he may have resided on our 
shores, he seems to have imbibed little of the spirit of religion 
and morality which actuated the Puritan founders of our 
country, and which, it is to be hoped, still influences, in a great 
degree, their descendants. He has brought with him from the 



XOTES. / 1 

Old World the selfish maxims that have for ages governed the 
policy of Europe, and which we should shake off from us as we 
would shake the dust from our feet. Let, rather, the policy 
inaugurated by the great Washington be our guide. In his 
" Farewell Address " he has laid down the true principle of our 
national action, founded on the teachings of the Christian 
religion, — u to do unto others as we would have men do to us." 
This, and no other, should be the rule of American policy. 
Let our policy be principle : let our policy be justice : let our 
policy be the right: this is the only manly, the only noble, the 
only Christian policy. Leave cunning and chicanery to the 
states of the Old World, if they will still cling to it : we will 
meet it with the straightforward right, and there is no fear for 
the result. 

We are not to do evil that good may come. If Divine 
Providence (for there is no such blind goddess as "Destiny") 
sees it to be for their own good, and for the good of the world, 
that Cuba, or Mexico, or other neighboring territories should 
be brought within the limits of the American Union, the way 
will be opened to effect the object in a just, legitimate, and 
honorable manner. But it is a thing we should not anxiously 
seek after, nor think about : we have territory enough and 
to spare. Let us be thankful for the blessings we have, and 
leave others to the enjoyment of theirs. 

It should be a source of just pride to Americans that, as yet, 
the United States have not gained one foot of territory by 
conquest. To this fact, the case of the acquisition of Texas is 



72 NOTES. 

no exception,-— though by many, ignorant of the circumstances, 
it is supposed to be so. The Texans valorously fought for 
their independence against the Mexican tyrant, Santa Anna, 
and in hard-won battles secured it ; and that independence was 
acknowledged by France and England, as well as by the United 
States. As an independent nation, she then proposed to unite 
her destinies to those of the United States, and the application, 
after being once declined, was at length acceded to. In this 
there was no just cause of complaint, no violation of the law of 
nations. Mexico, however, in her Spanish pride and obstinacy, 
declared that she should regard this step as a cause of war, 
and blindly attacked us. We repulsed her, and pursued her to 
her own doors, offering peace at every step : but this she 
obstinately refused, till she was entirely conquered and lay at 
our mercy: we had possession of the capital and the whole 
country. What followed ? Did we keep possession, as probably 
Britain or any other of the European nations would have done ? 
Xo ! we voluntarily gave it up, retaining by treaty only Cali- 
fornia, for which we paid 12,000,000 of dollars. So honor- 
able a national course, under similar circumstances, is scarcely 
to be found on the pages of history : England or France can 
show no such instance of preferring right to might. The 
upright course of our government also, in preventing, as far as 
it was possible, the invasion of Cuba and Central America by 
lawless bands of our own citizens, is a source of just self-gratu- 
lation. Let a similar course of national integrity continue to 
be pursued by the United States in its dealings with other 



NOTES. 73 

mtions, and Americans will have more reason to be proud of 
:heir country than if she were mistress of the world. 

15 Page 31. Pain follows sin, as sure as night the sun. 

National suffering will follow national sin, as surely as with 
individuals punishment attends wrong-doing. Witness, for 
instance, the sufferings which the British people have endured, 
collectively and individually, from the late terrible rebellion in 
India, — a direct consequence of the unrighteous annexation of 
Oude : thousands of families, from the lowest to the highest, 
have been thrown into mourning by it. Note, too, the disastrous 
effect of her long course of needless and unjust Avar and 
conquest, during the forty years preceding the peace of 1815. 
In addition to the loss of tens of thousands of valuable lives, 
the nation has been saddled with a debt, the pressure of which 
is felt, in a greater or less degree, by every family in the 
country, and will continue to be felt, perhaps, for ages to come. 
See France, too, with her general poverty and diminished pop- 
ulation—the effect of similar wars of conquest. See, also, the 
severe and lasting punishment inflicted on Russia, for her wicked 
attempt to seize upon the dominions of Turkey, in 1854 : — 
France and England combined against her, her armies destroyed, 
her military reputation humbled by defeat after defeat, her Black 
Sea fleet sunk, her southern capital demolished, and, to conclude 
the tragedy, the death of her emperor himself, — the result, 
doubtless, of disappointed ambition. In a good cause, I say 



74 XOTES. 

" America against the world !" in a righteous cause we need not 
fear any Power, nor all the Powers combined : the heart of the 
great American people would burst forth in a flame which would 
consume everything before it : a million of men would rush to 
our standards, and a thousand ships, if need be, would soon 
float upon the seas. But, in a bad cause, we should be miserably 
weak. That we were successful in both our wars against 
England, is not to be ascribed to our own prowess alone, but it 
was because we were in the right, and Divine Providence fought 
for us. Glory ! the true glory of a nation is to behold all its 
citizens dwelling in peace, plenty, knowledge, and righteousness : 
brave, indeed, in the defence of their homes and just rights, — 
but never attacking, injuring, or wronging any. The only real 
glory, individual or national, is the glory of wisdom and good- 
ness. It is time that the old barbarous notion of glory, the 
glory of mere animal courage and physical force, — a notion 
handed down from the heathen days of Achilles and Alexander 
— were banished from the Christian world. 

16 Page 34. On the Death of Webster. 

Daniel Webster, the great statesman, jurist, orator, and 
patriot, died, at his estate of Marshfield, Massachusetts, Octo- 
ber 24, 1852. The death of no public man, probably, since 
that of Washington, ever excited so profound a sensation as 
did this, throughout the length and breadth of the land. 



XOTES. 75 

17 Page 34. No sectional feeling or thought did he know, 
His country to him was One. 
" When I shall be found, sir," said Mr. Webster in his great 
speech, in reply to Mr. Hayne, of South Carolina, — " When I 
shall be found, sir, in my place here in the Senate, or elsewhere, 
to sneer at public merit , because it happens to spring up beyond 
the little limits of my own State or neighborhood, — when I 
shall refuse, for such cause, or for any cause, the homage due 
to American talent, to elevated patriotism, to sincere devotion 
to liberty and the country, — or if I see an uncommon endow- 
ment of heaven, any extraordinary capacity or virtue in any son 
of the South, — and if, moved by party prejudice, or gangrened 
by State jealousy, I get up here to abate a tithe of a hair from 
his just character or just fame, — may my tongue cleave to the 
roof of my mouth." 



NOTES TO THE SONNETS. 



1 Page 39. Sonnets. 

The Sonnet is a very ancient species of poetical composition, 
dating back as far as the thirteenth century, — the age of the 
Provencals. It properly consists of fourteen iambic verses, of 
eleven syllables (in English, ten), and is divided into two chief 
parts : the first consists of two divisions, each of four lines 
(quadrain) ; the second of two divisions of three lines (terzinci). 
The quadrains have two rhymes, each of which is repeated four 
times, and, according to the Italian usage, either so that the 
first, fourth, fifth, and eighth verses rhyme, and, again, the 
verses between them, the second, third, sixth, seventh ; or, 
which is rarer, the rhymes alternate ; or, what is still rarer, the 
first quadrain is written in the first way, and the second in the 
second. In the two terzines, there are either three rhymes, each 
twice repeated, or two rhymes thrice repeated, in all positions.* 

Italian sonnets, as seen in Petrarch, are printed in separate 
stanzas, answering to the four divisions. By this arrangement, 
the eye at once detects the structure of the poem ; and the 
mind, relieved by the spaces, has more leisure to examine its 
beauties. The sonnets in this volume are arranged after the 
* Encyclopaedia Americana, art. Sonnet. 



NOTES. 77 

Italian plan, — with the exception of uniting the two terzines, 
which appeared allowable since they are often closely connected 
I in sense. 

2 Page 44. America's Walhalla. 

Walhalla, or Valhalla — in the Scandinavian mythology, the 
paradise of heroes, after death. But it has been applied, in 
Germany, to a temple or edifice, in which are collected the 
names and statues of distinguished men. 

3 Page 45. This ancient tree. 

The well known elm, which stands in the centre of the 
Common, usually called u the great tree." 

4 Page 48. The Danish Tower at Newport. 

America was formerly thought to possess no " ruins," no relics 
j of the past ; but it appears that the " New World " is gradually 
turning out to be the older world of the two : so Sir Charles 
Lyle pronounces it, — geologically speaking, at least. But in 
addition to the remarkable monuments of the west and south, 
which go back beyond the memory of man, — the strange mounds 
scattered throughout the Mississippi Valley, and the extensive 
ruins found in Central America, — we have, in this tower at 
Newport, an interesting relic of the Middle Ages. It has been 
commonly called by the inhabitants "the old wind-mill," simply 
because no one knew what else to make of it. But Danish 
antiquarians pronounce it to have been the work of their ancestors, 



78 NOTES. 

the Northmen, who, it is now known, visited North America in 
the 11th or 12th century, at least 300 years before the tim< 
of Columbus. Professor Rafn, of Copenhagen, says of thi 
tower : a Of the ancient structure in Newport, there are no 
ornaments remaining which might possibly have served to 
guide us in assigning the probable date of its erection. That 
no vestige whatever is found of the pointed arch, nor any 
approximation to it, is indicative of an earlier rather than a 
later period. From such characteristics as remain, however, 
we can scarcely form any other inference than one in which I 
am persuaded that all who are familiar with Old Northern 
architecture will concur, — that this building was erected at a 
period decidedly not later than the twelfth century. This remark 
applies, of course, to the original building only, and not to 
the alterations that it subsequently received. For there are 
several alterations in the upper part of the building, which 
cannot be mistaken, and which were most likely occasioned 
by its being adapted, in modern times, to various uses ; for 
example, as the substructure of a windmill, and latterly, as a 
hay magazine. To the same times may be referred the win- 
dows, the fire-place, and the apertures made above the columns. 
That this building could not have been erected for a windmill, 
is what an architect will easily discern." 

It is many years since I saw this structure ; but it abides in 
my memory as a striking object — a round stone tower, some 
forty or fifty feet in height, resting upon eight columns. Had 
they this tower iu England, how much they would make of it ! 



NOTES. 79 

tastefully would they train over it the picturesque ivy, open 
vistas through which it could be seen to the best advantage, 
ii and preserve it with the utmost care. 

6 Page 49. Ledyard, the Traveler. 
See Sparks's Life of Ledyard. 

6 Page 50. Honor to Fulton and his native soil ! 

Many attempts have been made to rob Fulton of his merit 
as the inventor of the steamboat. Others, no doubt, both in 
America and Europe, had conceived the idea before him, and 
some had even put it into partial execution ; but it remained 
for Fulton, by a course of persevering and trying effort, to 
bring the invention into successful operation and use, — thus 
jerforming a great service to mankind. It has been wisely 
remarked, and the remark is strikingly applicable to the present 
ase, "The world justly gives credit to the man who makes 
i discovery available, not to him who merely perceived it 
to be possible."* His first steamboat was launched upon the 
river Hudson, in the year 1807. Five years afterwards, namely, 
in 1812, Henry Bell succeeded in putting a steamboat into 
operation on the river Clyde, in Scotland. In sailing up that 
river, the traveler beholds, in a conspicuous position on its 
right bank, an obelisk, with the name and date inscribed upon 
it, " Henry Bell, 1812." Where is Fulton's monument? 

* Lewes's Life of Goethe. 



80 NOTES. 

7 Page 51. The dead reviving at a touch, is seen-, 
— alluding to Allston's fine picture of the dead man reviving 
on touching the bones of Elisha (2 Kings, xiii. 21.) 

8 Page 54. See Lieut. Lynch's very interesting and wellJ 
written narrative. 

9 Page 55. In search of England' 1 s lost ones; 
— Sir John Franklin and his party, — the crews of the Erebus 
and Terror, — who have, doubtless, long since perished amid tin 
polar snows. 

10 Page 55. No more, no more, those northern wilds to roam. 

Dr. Kane died at Havana, February 16, 1857, his constitu 
tion broken, doubtless, *by the hardships endured in his polar 
explorations. 

11 Page 57. The Father of waters. 
The Mississippi, which, in the Indian language, is said to, 
have this signification. 

12 Page 59. On moonlit groves was falling. 

On my last visit to Harvard, in 1857, I was pained to fin* 

that pleasant grove of evergreens, which fronted old " Massa 

chusetts," gone : the rude hands of " improvement " had laid \ \ 

low, and left a bare lawn in its place. j 

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